TSA Expands Program to Speed Up Airport Security

The TSA is expanding a program that will make it easier to get through airport security when flying from certain airports.

This ought to be great news for frequent travelers, or, indeed, anyone who flies more than a few times a year: TSA says it will bring its Pre-check express lanes to 28 major airports during 2012. Since last October these fast lanes for the George Clooney _Up in the Air _types have been rolled out at several big hubs for airline partners American and Delta, including Atlanta and Dallas (see complete list below)

And that’s exactly the problem: Right now, it’s essentially an invitation-only program for two airlines’ best customers. Early initiates were contacted via email by the airlines because of their road warrior bona fides; other than U.S. citizenship, there are no official pre-requisites to joining. What happens then is that a flier’s boarding pass is embedded with a code that, when scanned, gives them entrée into the express lanes, where they’ll get spared some of the indignities of the security drill, like removing shoes, laptops and jackets. Or maybe not—fliers can occasionally expect an unpleasant flashback to the old days, under TSA's policy of random, unpredictable screening.

As the program expands this year, more airlines will be added, including Alaska, United and USAirways, said Lisa Farbstein, a TSA spokeswoman I spoke to last night. But that means the service will only be at checkpoints or terminals at a particular airport where the sponsoring airlines have a presence. It’s also unclear how long a person’s eligibility will run and if they have to renew it, she said. TSA says that the lanes have been transited by some 330,000 passengers—but that includes multiple uses by the same person, and TSA won’t release the number of individuals who have joined.

So how do you get similar treatment if an airline doesn’t think you rate? There are several ways to jump the security line. One way is to sign up for Global Entry or one of the other customs-expedited programs; Global Entry costs $100 and requires an in-person interview and biometric ID .

This week Global Entry also announced it would make the program permanent, and that it would allow children under 14 to get in as well, meaning that family groups can take advantage.

Then there’s Clear, the private sector express lane provider that just announced it’s expanding to San Francisco, and to all terminals at the hub. It charges $179 a year and also has a family friendly policy of adding spouses or children for $50 each.

That raises the odd prospect of having TSA’s Pre-check operate side by side with Clear at the few airports where they share real estate. “That’s a completely separate program,” Farbstein said.

Here’s the full list of 35 airports that have or will be getting Pre-check (current ones boldfaced):